A Few Lessons from Rocky Raccoon 100

1. Attitude adjustment - At a certain point, I just stopped talking to my pacer. Every step was a struggle. Things were kind of miserable, but I made things worse by dwelling on the misery. I need to learn to take my mind off the pain, to focus on the positive rather than focus on the negative.

2. Don't resist the pain - There were times when I could have pushed harder, but I didn't because my legs hurt. In retrospect, I was resisting the pain. I was holding back because I was afraid of the pain. Recently, I came across a quote by Ann Trason (I think it was Ann who said this) that went like this: "it hurts up to a certain point and then it doesn't get any worse." Next time I run a 100 miler, I need to keep this mantra in mind. Just push through the pain. It ain't gonna to kill ya. (There is such a thing as bad pain, but that's a horse of a different color). Just when you feel that you can't push any harder, that is precisely when you need to push harder.

3. Stay on top of fueling from the beginning. Don't fall behind. You will regret it.

4. Tylenol can be your friend in cases of emergency. You can pop some every 3 to 4 hours if absolutely needed.

5. Keep the breaks to a minimum - the longer you stop, the harder it will be to start back up again. You leg muscles will seize up and it will take you longer to loosen back up again. Also, in the cold, the longer you stay still, the lower your core temperature will drop and your run a greater risk of hypothermia. Keep moving.

How to Stop the Slosh With Your Running Hydration Pack Bladder

A cool tip from EnduranceBuzz.com... worth it for all you users of the hydration pack who are annoyed with the sound of the sloshing of the water in the bladder. Just flip the bladder upside down and suck out all the remaining air. No more slosh!